The Troubled Lives of Albus Dumbledore
by Castlenox5
Summary: Every wizard knows the story of Harry Potter's triumph over Voldemort, but few know the story of the man who made that triumph possible. This is the story of Albus Dumbledore and his secret involvement in the Chosen One's success.
1. Introduction

Albus Dumbledore paced around his office, thoughts swirling around both the vastness of his mind and the infinite depth of his Pensieve. When he defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald, he thought there was no way the wizarding world would ever see another wizard so dark.

He had been so wrong.

Dumbledore had always been thought of as one of the most intelligent wizards of his age; almost prescient, in fact. What nobody knew was how he acquired that knowledge. Most people also did not appreciate how healthy his disregard for the rules was. One of the greatest kept secrets of all time was how much of an opportunist Albus Dumbledore really was. The only difference between him and Grindelwald was that his opportunism was used in the service of others.

Dumbledore understood the power of knowledge. And, while he was aware of the dangers of what he did, he had secretly acquired a Time Turner in his youth and used it regularly to see the past and future. Time travel is dangerous, though, because any change in the past can profoundly change the present.

Imagine time as a river with billions of distributaries constantly branching off to form new rivers with their own billions of distributaries branching off into their own rivers going backward and forward throughout all of time. If you make a change five minutes in the past, you will not have changed very much and that which you have changed hasn't really had enough time to establish itself yet. The farther back you make a change, though, the more of those distributaries, rivers, and potential futures you change.

While any change in the past changes the future in equally profound ways, changes closer to the present are changing a future that has not yet happened; a future that is still somewhat undecided anyway and subject to its own flex. The unpredictability of humanity makes the future unchartable water anyway. Every decision eliminates potential futures while creating new ones, so it is important to not change past events. That is the reason why Dumbledore merely observed the coming storm, rather than going back and trying to avoid it.

During his youth, he had grown very close with his future rival Gellert Grindelwald. They had actually grown as close as two men could grow. Dumbledore and Grindelwald naively believed that all knowledge was worth having, so they stopped at nothing to acquire it. Unfortunately, their love of knowledge also exceeded their love for each other. As their true natures began to unfold, their paths began to diverge.

One of the curses of intelligence is the understanding that power does not come from everybody knowing the same things, but in knowing that which nobody else does. That understanding can create a certain suspicion (a paranoia in some) that a friend knows something and is not telling. Whether it began with Albus or with Gellert, nobody knows, but at some point, each of these dearest of friends realized they needed to begin keeping secrets from each other: Grindelwald to acquire the power he desired and Dumbledore to protect the world from his friend's ambition.

This altruistic compulsion led to Dumbledore spending a great deal of his youth in the past, present, and future secretly observing events and preparing for the war he knew would come. The war that began tonight with the death of a friend and the birth of a savior. The war that would bring friends together, rip families apart, and ultimately lead to his own death at the hands of one of his closest and most trusted allies.

Dumbledore knew all of this, knew it was necessary, yet he still paced around his office trying to find another way… and knowing that he could not.

One of the benefits of time travel most people are aware of is that you can live thousands of years in an instant. One thing most people do not realize about time travel, though, is that you can use it to be in multiple places at once. It was not unusual for several Albus Dumbledores from the past and future to meet with Albus Dumbledore from the present to talk about things that had happened and how they affected things that would happen. One Dumbledore was brilliant. Put twenty of them into one room to brainstorm and the future could be won in an evening.

It was also not unusual for a decision made during those meetings to result in one or more of the future Albus Dumbledores to disappear as his future was avoided, but then new ones would appear as the result of the new potential futures that were created. Sometimes this was the result of a decision and sometimes it was simply the result of sharing information. The beauty of the system was that they all knew what the others had shared with the group, so they were well aware of many of the futures that had been avoided. It was a dizzying process, but he felt it was one of the most important services he could provide mankind. It also resulted in Dumbledore knowing more than any single man should.

On this most important of nights, there was a host of Albus Dumbledores from across time spread throughout the wizarding world acting as scouts. They would come and go from the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts providing the current Headmaster with the information he needed to implement his plan.

Albus heard a popping sound from the corner of his office and turned around to look into the twinkling eyes of himself. Instead of twinkling with intelligence, though, these eyes were twinkling with tears. No words were necessary. Present looked at future, who simply nodded sadly and blinked out of existence. Lily and James Potter were dead, Voldemort was gone, and Harry Potter had just become the fulfillment of a prophecy. Even though the chain of events that had begun this night would not conclude for 17 more years, there was no turning back.

The First Wizarding War was over and the Second Wizarding War had begun.


	2. The Only Family He Has Left

Each Dumbledore in the office looked sorrowfully at the others and Albus Dumbledore smiled sadly as he said, "Until next time…" Each of the other Dumbledores took out a strange looking pocketwatch, tinkered with it, then disappeared.

All except one.

The one who remained was a Dumbledore from 16 years in the future. A Dumbledore with a blackened and near-useless hand. A Dumbledore who had mere hours to live, but who had witnessed this plan play out as far as he was able to. This Dumbledore was, by far, his most valuable resource because he knew what happened. Together, they left the office.

Albus Dunbledore's walk from his office to the hut of the massive gamekeeper, Hagrid, was a long one and it provided him with plenty of time to reconsider his plan. An infant had just lost both of his parents and become the embodiment of a prophecy that would ultimately mean the downfall of the most powerful dark wizard of all time. How could such a child be expected to rise to the occasion? How could he learn everything he would need to know in enough time?

"You know it might not be this one," said Albus to his future self.

"Ahh, my friend, but it must," was his response. "Logically speaking, it could not have been the other. Not anymore, at least. But don't worry, they will both play their part."

"It just seems wrong that two young wizard should become orphans so young."

"But there is nothing to be done about that," said the elder Dumbledore. "Our plan, though it will give you plenty of occasion to doubt, will work. And it is for the best. But we are almost at Hagrid's hut. It would not do for him to see me, so I believe I will be getting back to my time. Be strong, my friend."

"I have no choice, my friend," he answered. "But it seems you have the more difficult job tonight. Good luck on your quest."

They embraced before the elder removed his Time Turner and disappeared into the future. Albus steeled himself, took a deep breath, then rapped on the door of the old hut.

There was a shuffling and some high-pitched yelps from Hagrid's boarhound puppy before the door creaked open and the massive, grizzled frame of Hagrid filled the small doorway.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir!" exclaimed Hagrid as he opened the door wider. "I wasn't expectin' ya. Come in, come in."

"Why thank you, Hagrid," said Albus as he walked into the hut. "Would you mind if I sat down for a moment?"

"O' course not! Can I fix ye a cuppa tea?" Hagrid offered.

"Actually, my friend," Albus confessed, "I think we might share a cup of your fire whiskey."

Hagrid was taken aback as he had never known Professor Dumbledore to drink.

"Is summat wrong?" he asked.

"Sadly, there is. I'm afraid I am the bearer of grave tidings. Lily and James Potter are dead."

Silence filled the hut as those words sank in.

"Was it a Death Eater?" Hagrid inquired.

"It was Voldemort himself," came the response.

Hagrid, who had gasped at the name, burst into tears at this news. He pulled out a soiled handkerchief that was approximately the size of a baby's blanket and blew his nose in it before returning it to one of his overstuffed pockets.

After crying for a few minutes, Hagrid was finally able to blurt out, "And what about their boy? Harry. Is he gone too?"

Albus gently shook his head. "No. Harry lived. Which brings me to the reason for my visit… aside from sharing some very sad news, of course. I have a very important job for you."

Hagrid straightened up in his seat (which creaked under his weight) and took on a more serious aspect. "Whatever you need, sir, you can count on me."

"I know I can. You're the only one I can trust with this most important of jobs. I need you to go to Godric's Hollow, retrieve Harry, and bring him to me."

"Here at the school?"

"No, Hagrid. I need you to bring him to Little Whinging. Bring him to 4 Privet Drive. I shall meet you there."

"You're not coming with me?"

"No, Hagrid, I'm afraid I have another urgent matter to attend to."

"If you think that's best, sir, o' course. How am I s'pposed to get there?" Hagrid asked.

"I'm sure you will find a way," Albus answered.

"You can count on me!" Hagrid sad as Albus stood up and walked to the door. Hagrid walked with him and opened the door. Albus walked into the night and Hagrid shut the door, preparing to leave. He never noticed that Dumbledore's cup had not been touched.

Albus, though, was on his way to the top of the astronomy tower. He had one extremely important stop to make before he went to meet Hagrid in Little Whinging. The other might not be the one from the prophecy, but he would still be vital to the success of the plan. Albus had to make preparations.

He turned on the sport and, with a pop, appeared small London park. There was a small two-story home across the street with a sole light shining on the main floor. Albus walked to the front door and, taking a deep breath, knocked thrice.

A middle-aged woman with a severe expression on her face opened the door. Her lips were as tightly pursed as the bun on her head, but her face softened when she recognized who it was.

"Albus," exclaimed the witch. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"There is something very important we must speak of, Augusta."

"Please, come in," she responded.

Albus passed through the door and Mrs. Longbottom gave a cautious glare down the deserted street before closing it behind him.


End file.
